Jakarta. Indonesia said Tuesday that it had finalized its debt restructuring plan for the China-backed Jakarta-Bandung bullet train or “Whoosh”.

Indonesia has been trying to solve the debt problem hanging over the $7.3 billion high-speed rail. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy had taken out a Chinese loan to cover 75% of the costs. Danantara — the sovereign wealth fund that is in charge of Whoosh’s biggest financial stress bearer Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) — has had discussions with Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa. 

The fund’s chief operating officer, Dony Oskaria, told reporters that the government would make a public announcement within two weeks from now on what they had in mind to tackle the problem.

“We will reveal the whole plan then. I have discussed this with Minister [Purbaya]. An agreement has been reached. We have completed the assessments and other matters,” Dony said at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta.

“There are formal processes that we still have to go through. That includes signing [the agreement].”

Dony did not disclose more details on the plan. Purbaya, too, remained tight-lipped on the government’s strategy. The minister, however, said that “matters related to the management were already clear”.

“We have arrived at a decision, but we will announce it when the time comes,” Purbaya stated.

Whoosh is managed by the joint venture Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China (KCIC). PSBI — a consortium of four Indonesian state firms — holds 60% stake, while five Chinese companies account for 40% of the shares. Railway operator KAI is the majority shareholder at 58.53%.

The government previously confirmed that Indonesia would use the state budget to repay the debt. However, only time will tell if Jakarta will actually forge ahead with this plan. Danantara had also said that it had entered talks with China over the debt, although the discussions were limited to video calls.

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